🇬🇧United Kingdom

The Ordinary vs SkinCeuticals

Rated by Lovi · Unbiased, science-based skincare AI trained on real user outcomes · How the Fit score works

The Ordinary and SkinCeuticals are prominent skincare brands offering serums, moisturizers, cleansers, and other formulations. Both suit dry skin and dry sensitive skin best through key ingredients like glycerin, which significantly increases skin hydration and barrier function, hyaluronic acid, which lengthens the duration of wrinkle reduction, and squalane or dimethicone. While the Canadian brand focuses on affordable single-ingredient staples, the American brand is loved for its advanced, targeted formulations.

The Ordinary is a Canadian skincare brand founded in 2016 and owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. since 2021.

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SkinCeuticals is an American skincare brand founded in 1994 and owned by L'Oréal since 2005.

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This page compares some of the most popular The Ordinary and SkinCeuticals products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular The Ordinary vs SkinCeuticals products

People Say

The OrdinarySkinCeuticals
  • Smoothes skin texture Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “glass skin effect — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “skin feels baby butt smooth — The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution”
    • “definitely gave me a glass skin texture — SkinCeuticals P-TOX”
    • “pores appeared less noticeable — SkinCeuticals P-Tiox”
  • Clears acne and blemishes Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “pimples disappear within a day — The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution”
    • “scars and hormonal acne faded — The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%”
    • “faded dark spots — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “cystic acne shrinking — SkinCeuticals Blemish + Age Defense”
  • Great value and pricing Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “lasts forever — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “can't beat the price — The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution”
    • “extremely affordable — The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%”
  • Hydration and plumping Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “Hydrated my skin beautifully. — SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2”
    • “Pure hydration in a bottle — SkinCeuticals Hydrating B5 Gel”
    • “skin feels super hydrated — SkinCeuticals H.A. Intensifier”
    • “skin feels immediately hydrated — The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5”
  • Lightweight absorption Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “absorbs quickly — SkinCeuticals Discoloration Defense Serum”
    • “absorbs very quickly — SkinCeuticals P-Tiox”
    • “sank in quickly — SkinCeuticals Phyto Corrective Gel”
    • “Sinks in immediately — The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum”
  • Gentle and non-irritating Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Leaves my face feeling soft and not tight at all. — The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser”
    • “Finally a cleanser that doesn't sting my face. — The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser”
    • “No irritation at all — The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA”
    • “Perfect starting strength — SkinCeuticals Retinol 0.3”
  • High price point Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “Too pricey for the hype — SkinCeuticals P-TOX”
  • Sticky or tacky finish Sometimes NotedRarely Noted
    • “feels tacky — SkinCeuticals H.A. Intensifier”
    • “slight tackiness — SkinCeuticals P-Tiox”
    • “sticky residue — SkinCeuticals Phyto Corrective Gel”
    • “feels very sticky — The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5”
  • Slow or no results Rarely NotedSometimes Noted
    • “not a miracle worker overnight — The Ordinary Mandelic Acid 10% + HA”
    • “Didn't do anything special — The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA”
    • “haven't noticed much change on the deeper lines — SkinCeuticals P-TOX”
  • Stinging and irritation Sometimes NotedRarely Noted
    • “caused redness — SkinCeuticals P-Tiox”
    • “I tried a sample of this stuff and it make my face so red! — SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2”
    • “burned my eyes — SkinCeuticals A.G.E. Advanced Eye”
    • “stings a little but worth it — The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution”

The Ordinary vs SkinCeuticals routines for dry skin

Buy The Ordinary routine · £90.51 · 97% fitBuy SkinCeuticals routine · £181.39 · 92% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

The Ordinary vs SkinCeuticals routines for oily skin

Buy The Ordinary routine · £120.07 · 93% fitBuy SkinCeuticals routine · £90.27 · 89% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

The Ordinary vs SkinCeuticals routines for combination skin

Buy The Ordinary routine · £134.25 · 92% fitBuy SkinCeuticals routine · £247.63 · 90% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

The Ordinary or SkinCeuticals: which is better?

The Ordinary delivers better value and acne-clearing results, while SkinCeuticals excels in hydration and lightweight absorption. Both brands offer superior routine fits across most skin types, including dry, combination, acne-prone, and mature skin.

What is the difference between The Ordinary and SkinCeuticals?

The Ordinary provides products on this page that are more affordable and better for clearing acne, while SkinCeuticals offers options that excel in hydration and lightweight absorption. Both brands offer routines with a Superior fit level for dry skin, dry sensitive skin, combination skin, acne-prone skin, mature skin, and skin with dark spots.

The Ordinary or SkinCeuticals for dry skin?

Both The Ordinary and SkinCeuticals offer a Superior routine fit for dry skin. The Ordinary features a high value and gentle options, whereas SkinCeuticals delivers hydrating and plumping moisturizers.

The Ordinary or SkinCeuticals: which cleanser is better?

Both brands offer cleansers with a High Lovi fit level for various skin types on the products on this page. Reviewers note that The Ordinary provides a better value and pricing, whereas SkinCeuticals is often praised for lightweight absorption.

Which is more affordable, The Ordinary or SkinCeuticals?

The Ordinary is more affordable, offering great value and pricing compared to SkinCeuticals, which has reviewers noting a high price point.

The Ordinary or SkinCeuticals: which brand is better for anti-aging and smoothing skin texture?

Both The Ordinary and SkinCeuticals offer products on this page that are well-suited for anti-aging and smoothing skin texture, but The Ordinary is often noted for great value while SkinCeuticals is frequently praised for hydration and lightweight absorption. Retinol helps stimulate collagen accumulation in naturally aged human skin.

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Which brand has a better routine fit for dry sensitive skin?

Both The Ordinary and SkinCeuticals offer a Superior routine fit for dry sensitive skin.

The Ordinary or SkinCeuticals: which is better for fading dark spots?

Both brands are equal for fading dark spots, as Lovi rates them both as Superior for this concern. Reviewers mention that The Ordinary is better for great value and pricing, while SkinCeuticals is better for lightweight absorption.

The Ordinary or SkinCeuticals for oily skin?

For oily skin, The Ordinary has a Superior routine fit while SkinCeuticals has a High fit. Reviewers note that The Ordinary offers better acne-clearing and value, whereas SkinCeuticals provides lightweight absorption.

The Ordinary or SkinCeuticals: which moisturizer is better?

Both The Ordinary and SkinCeuticals offer moisturizers that provide a superior Lovi fit level for dry and dry sensitive skin types. Reviewers commonly praise The Ordinary for great value and pricing, while SkinCeuticals is frequently noted for hydration and plumping.

The Ordinary or SkinCeuticals for sensitive skin?

The Ordinary is a better fit for sensitive skin, achieving a Superior routine fit compared to SkinCeuticals at High. Reviewers note that The Ordinary offers gentler and non-irritating serums.

The Ordinary or SkinCeuticals for acne-prone skin?

Both The Ordinary and SkinCeuticals offer a Superior routine fit for acne-prone skin. The Ordinary stands out for clearing acne and blemishes better according to reviewer themes.

Research behind their key ingredients

Behind this comparison

Lovi compares products by their fit scores, calculated from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.

  • Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Co-founder, Medical Director

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer

  • Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Co-founder, CEO and CTO

    PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex

  • Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Medical Board

    Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine

  • Aishani Shah, MD

    Aishani Shah, MD

    Medical Board

    Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD

  • Asya Zubkova, MS

    Asya Zubkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member

  • Hanna Kurets, MD

    Hanna Kurets, MD

    Medical Board, Medical Advisor

    Dermatology MD

  • Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Medical Board

    Dermatology and diagnostic consultant

  • Victoria Derkova, MS

    Victoria Derkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist

How does it fit your skin?

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